Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
Along with the weather, the heat is also on in Wisconsin’s primary election campaigns with just about six weeks to go before the August 11 runoffs. There are congressional races like in the 7th and 3rd districts to watch, and the race for governor, where six Democrats are still vying to be chosen to take on the leading Republican in the race. As the campaigns heat up, we turn to political panelists Republican Bill McCoshen and Democrat Scot Ross. And thanks for being here, guys.

Bill McCoshen:
Thanks for having us.

Frederica Freyberg:
So first to you, Scot. With absentee ballots going out and now being arguably into the final stretch, who is breaking through on the Democratic side for candidates for governor and why?

Scot Ross:
I mean it seems like it still could be anybody’s ball game. There’s a lot of spending going on right now. I guess, you know, they say it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. But we have crossed the 20-mile marker and we’re getting to the point where people are going to have to start making up their minds about who their candidates are going to be. I think the Democrats have an embarrassment of riches. I think they are fighting. You know, they’re running downhill because the Republicans are so in trouble because of the record of Donald Trump and the fact that their nominee, Tom Tiffany, is a radical extremist who is completely and totally tied to Trump in every single way.

Frederica Freyberg:
So, Bill, do you want to respond to that?

Bill McCoshen:
I don’t agree that there’s — it’s anybody’s ballgame. One has already dropped out: Missy Hughes. I wouldn’t be surprised if two more dropped out in July. We got 38 days to go. I think it’s really three people who are seriously in contention to win this. It’s Francesca Hong, a legislator from Madison, Mandela Barnes, former lieutenant governor and current Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez. I think those are the only three who have a legitimate shot to win at this point, based on all the polling. We will have a new Marquette poll out in about ten days here in Wisconsin that will sort of tell — give everyone the picture of where things are at. But what we know from private polls and some other publicly released polls is those are the top three. And Hong is the one that’s surging at this point.

Frederica Freyberg:
Speaking of Francesca Hong, Scot, what do Democratic strategists make of democratic socialists?

Scot Ross:
I mean, listen, for the last 50 years, when a Democrat elected wants to spend money that’s not on tax cuts for rich people or corporations, Bill’s party calls them socialists. They call them welfare. They call them worse. I mean, for God’s sakes, they were calling his old boss, Tommy Thompson, signature achievement BadgerCare here in Wisconsin welfare. That’s what the speaker of the Assembly was calling it. So, you know, we’re a big tent. And the fact is, is that when it comes to people’s expenses, when it comes to gas prices, Republicans are a failure for Wisconsinites, a failure for America. That’s why Democrats are going to win this election in the fall, not because of labels that Republicans have been putting on us for 50 years anyhow.

Frederica Freyberg:
Republicans are putting that label on her?

Scot Ross:
Well, I mean…

Bill McCoshen:
Democrats are owning it and proudly owning it. And I think that’s actually worked to Francesca Hong’s advantage. I mean, she’s gone on national podcasts with a guy named Hasan Piker, who’s got several million followers, and she raised 100 grand in one day. Why? She’s the boldest progressive in the race. She’s willing to say what others are not willing to say, and she’s willing to be a democratic socialist. And none of the others have attacked her for that. I can guarantee you, Tom Tiffany is going to contrast with her if she ends up getting through the primary in 38 days.

Scot Ross:
I mean, Tiffany has been attacking Barnes and Hong the entirety of his campaign and again —

Bill McCoshen:
Which I think is smart.

Scot Ross:
Yeah, of course. But, you know, let’s not kid ourselves. Tom Tiffany was on a podcast last week with a book burner who says that foreign governments are turning our kids trans. So like, if we want to — if we want to talk about the internet and who is appearing on internet things, I think that’s a fight that Democrats (?).

Bill McCoshen:
But nationally, you only have 13 Democrats in the Congress who have signed up to sort of fight the democratic socialists. That’s less than 10% of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives. So it is a tough line to hoe right now for Democrats. They’re not sure if they should be with the socialists. Guys like JB Pritzker have come out in favor, said we need more socialists in our party. That’s stunning to me.

Scot Ross:
I think the thing you think about that is that all the candidates who are calling themselves democratic Socialists and the ones who have been elected are all younger. They’re all millennials.

Bill McCoshen:
They are younger.

Scot Ross:
They’re all the ones who are staring up — standing up to the gerontocracy that is the Democratic Party with our 75-year-old Senate Majority Leader, Chuck — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. So I think it’s — you know, ideologically, Democrats are all in the same, are all in the same camp, which is we want fully funded schools. We want access to affordable health care. We want to protect our clean air and water. We want our civil liberties. And we don’t want ICE Gestapo, you know, disappearing 38 people in Wisconsin yesterday.

Bill McCoshen:
I would sum this up in two words. They want bold progressivism. And that’s why Hong’s in the game. Eight years ago, when Tony Evers won this primary with 42% – by the way, the winner of this will not come close to that number – she would have been a fringe candidate. Today she’s got a chance to win it.

Frederica Freyberg:
So Bill, who would Tom Tiffany most want as a general election opponent and who would he be afraid of?

Bill McCoshen:
I think he would have been most concerned about those that are not going to make it to the finish line. Believe it or not, I think Democrats decided that the sort of more moderate, who can appeal to trade union guys or sort of the moderate old school Democrats, they’re not going to make it to the finish line in this race. So all three of those who we’ve both agreed are sort of in the front of the pack are pretty progressive. And that’s a good contrast for Tiffany. So I don’t think he has a problem with any of the three top tier candidates.

Scot Ross:
Tom Tiffany’s biggest problem is not who he’s going to face, but the fact that he’s on the ballot at all. This is a guy who took money out — he took food out of the mouths of children to give billionaires tax breaks. He wants a national abortion ban. He took $300 billion from rural health care. So rural Wisconsin, when your hospitals are closing, you can thank Tom Tiffany for that. And he supports the $2 billion payoff for the January 6th terrorist insurrectionists. So this is a guy who is radically out of touch with where Wisconsin folks are, especially now when prices are higher than they’ve ever been. Gas prices are higher than they’ve ever been because of the war of choice in Iran. And the fact that Trump is making billions of dollars while people can’t afford food.

Bill McCoshen:
The landscape is challenging for a sitting congressman in this cycle. There’s no question about that. But I think Tom Tiffany can easily make the contrast between common sense and crazy. And I think most Wisconsin voters will side with common sense.

Scot Ross:
He’s trying a makeover. It’s not going to work. He scrubbed his website before he got in the race. And you know, he can’t hide from his record. He can’t run from it as much as he ducks the media, he cannot run from it.

Frederica Freyberg:
So Bill, in the 3rd and 7th congressional races, will Donald Trump’s endorsement carry the day? Of course, in the primary presumably but in the general?

Bill McCoshen:
Both of those seats lean red. Remember, our congressional maps were not changed. These are the same ones that we’ve run on for the last couple of cycles, which means Derrick Van Orden should be considered the favorite. He’s the incumbent, and it means that the Republican whomever comes out of the primary in 38 days should be the favorite in the 7th. I think Donald Trump is going to help Derrick Van Orden. I think he’s going to be in western Wisconsin once or twice. I think JD Vance will be. I think Donald Trump will ultimately help in the 7th but I think they also don’t want to have to spend too many resources up there. That’s kind of a messy primary, which is unfortunate on our side between Kevin Hermening, former Iranian hostage and successful businessman and young man Michael Alfonso, who did get the president’s endorsement. You know, my hope is that Republicans sort of put down their arms and stop the circular firing squad that’s going on on that, because I think either would be ultimately a great congressperson. But right now, it’s pretty messy for the Republicans.

Frederica Freyberg:
Scot, what are the next six weeks look like in these races?

Scot Ross:
I think the next six weeks are — in the 3rd and the 7th — I think you’re going to see Republicans ducking the media. Derrick Van Orden is just terrified of going before any sort of camera. You know, that’s not, you know, some right wing podcaster. I think that he is the one who is in the most trouble. You know, whoever comes out of the primary and obviously, you know, there’s Rebecca Cooke who has a massive fundraising advantage, and Emily Berg, who’s the councilman up in Eau Claire. I think either one of them contrasts great against the record of Derrick Van Orden. I mean, he’s been, you know, if Tom Tiffany wasn’t in Congress, he’d be our most extremist member of Congress. So I think that he’s got a lot of — he’s got a lot to answer for. And I think the voters are going to hold him accountable for that.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. We need to leave it there. We’ll circle back with you both before the primary and after, of course. Bill McCoshen and Scot Ross. Thank you.

Scot Ross:
Thanks for having us.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
Campaigns for governor ahead of the August primary head into high gear with some Democrats in the field getting a boost after the party’s state convention. A straw poll of party activists put Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez on top with state Representative Francesca Hong in second and state Senator Kelda Roys coming in third. Here’s a glimpse of candidates’ speeches at the convention.

Sarah Rodriguez:
The job I’m asking you for starts with showing up and then standing up. Here’s what I hear out there. Our neighbors are scared. They are angry because even if they are doing everything right, they cannot make ends meet. They work hard and want a paycheck that covers the rent or mortgage before it’s gone. They need a health insurance premium that they can afford so when they get sick, they have the care that they need. They need public schools that are fully funded for their kids so they don’t have to go to referendum.

Joel Brennan:
We’ve seen this before in Wisconsin. Scott Walker ran this con for eight years. Divide and conquer, gut the public sector, hollow out schools, attack workers and treat government like the enemy. When Tony Evers asked me to serve as his top cabinet official, we inherited a mess. Depleted reserves, structural deficits, teachers, state employees, and working people who had been treated like a punching bag for eight years. So we rolled up our sleeves and we got to work. We constructed responsible budgets that returned us to Wisconsin values.

David Crowley:
I do want to be honest, because as I travel, people always ask me, David, can a Black candidate become governor?

Audience member:
Hell yeah.

David Crowley:
If it’s a candidate with a track record of delivering results and winning and not just talking about them? Yes. If it’s a candidate that has a plan that’s built on proven public policy, not whatever the latest poll says is popular, then yes. The answer is simple, y’all. Yes. And I am that candidate. I’ve built a strong coalition in the state’s largest county while earning support from our rural, suburban, urban communities alike.

Kelda Roys:
I am running for governor to raise wages, lower costs, deliver great public schools, and protect our freedoms from this authoritarian regime. We will lower the cost of the biggest ticket items, from housing to health care, child care to utilities. I don’t just have bullet points. I have bills. I don’t just have social posts. I have plans. And we know this is possible because we’ve done it before, right? As the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, I helped pass the first pro-choice law in 30 years through an anti-choice Republican Assembly.

Mandela Barnes:
We have been failed by the status quo for far too long. And it’s not just enough to be anti-Trump. It’s not enough to just be a Democrat if you’re going to cave to corporate interests. We need a governor who rejects the Washington way of rampant corruption and corporate greed and that’s why I’m running for governor to do things the Wisconsin way. That means taxing the rich. That means freezing the rates. That means keeping our communities safe, ending the AI schemes that rig the system, fully funding our public schools, passing universal child care, and delivering health care to every single person in this state, and standing up to those monopolies that continue to bankrupt our family farms and raise our utility bills. I am asking for your support in August, and I’m asking you to organize with me all the way through November to take back.

Francesca Hong:
I am running on a platform of permanent affordability, not as a slogan. Not as a slogan, but as a practice. I am the only candidate in this race who has called for a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers. I will not meekly accept the sellout of Wisconsin to trillionaires, billionaires and big tech. I am the only candidate in this race with a plan for free childcare. I am the only candidate in this race who has even considered what AI will do, what it means for our workers and our civil rights.

Missy Hughes:
The first thing I had to do as secretary of Economic Development was clean up Foxconn. No problem. I had three children under the age of two. I know how to clean up a mess. So I cleaned up Donald Trump and Scott Walker’s mess and saved the state and Wisconsinites billions of dollars. And then Covid hit. Covid hit and let me tell you, that’s not a great time to be in charge of the state’s economy. But we rolled up our sleeves and we got to work.

Frederica Freyberg:
On the Republican side, current 7th Congressional U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany got his party’s endorsement in his run for governor at their convention.

Tom Tiffany:
We’re going to take a shovel to waste and fraud. We’re going to root out corruption. And we’re going to bring common sense back to Madison. Because I refuse to accept failure. I refuse to accept decline, and I refuse to see the state of Wisconsin fall behind.

Frederica Freyberg:
Republican Andy Manske is also running.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
Even as the president and members of his cabinet make campaign swings through Wisconsin this week, the Trump administration is working behind the scenes on the electoral process leading up to the November elections. This week, the U.S. Postal Service released its proposed rule attached to the president’s March executive order, titled Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections. That’s an order Governor Tony Evers at the time called BS. The order instructs the Departments of Homeland Security and Social Security to send state election officials lists of confirmed U.S. citizens and prevents mail-in ballots to anyone not on the list. Add to that, the FBI has been in Milwaukee interviewing and seeking to talk with election officials who worked the 2020 election that Trump declares he actually won but didn’t. Trump maintains his loss was a result of widespread voter fraud, which never proved out. Set against all this, we turn to Wisconsin Elections Commission chair-elect Republican member Don Millis. And Mr. Millis, thanks very much for being here.

Don Millis:
Great to see you.

Frederica Freyberg:
So is it another rough and tumble election cycle staring down the Wisconsin Elections Commission?

Don Millis:
Well, more of the rough and tumble certainly is going to be in the political ads that are run between the candidates. You know, this has always been an issue for the elections commission. You know, there will be lawsuits and counter lawsuits and proposed regulations. You know, I’m not too worried about it. I know that the things that really bother me the most, that concern me the most are making sure that absentee ballots, if they’re mailed back a week or two before the election, they get there on Election Day. Those are things that we’re working to try to — working with the post office to make sure that that happens. Those are the things that concern me the most.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because WEC has called on the U.S. Postal Service to speed up deliveries of absentee ballots after I read two-thirds of clerks reported mail delays during the April 7th election, how bad was it?

Don Millis:
Well, it was so bad that when the commission staff sent out a questionnaire to clerks, they got an overwhelming and historic response from clerks. Typically, clerks don’t respond. There was a huge, huge concern. The staff have met with the postal service officials. We are trying to get what’s known as enhanced delivery procedures that they would agree to when we have elections. This would mean, for example, that when you put a — return a ballot to Madison or Grafton or Eau Claire, it wouldn’t have to go to Milwaukee or Minneapolis. It would go straight to the clerk. And so those are things we’re working on. Those are the things we do behind the scenes that no one really seems to pay much attention to. I’m glad that you’re paying attention to it, that we can really make sure that our elections are done effectively and efficiently.

Frederica Freyberg:
Have you had any response from the USPS on that?

Don Millis:
I think the staff have indicated that it was a — generally a very positive response. I think there’s a dedication to making sure that absentee ballots are returned promptly, having multiple deliveries on Election Day, things like that. I think it’s — I think it was a very constructive conversation.

Frederica Freyberg:
As to these federally generated voter lists for delivery of absentee ballots, do you think that’s a good idea?

Don Millis:
Well, I think it’s problematic. I mean, one of the concerns is they want to use intelligent mail barcodes on the return. We use those on the — when ballots are sent out. Again, the problem with that is that it delays it. I’m guessing that as with so many other executive orders and regulations that have come out of the Obama, Trump, Biden, Trump White Houses, the courts are going to have their say. If it looks like it’s going to pass muster with the courts, that’s when we probably become concerned and we’ll certainly have contingency plans if it looks like it’s going to fall into place. But what was published last week was just a preliminary notice and comment in the Federal Register. I’m not — I think it’s unlikely that that regulation is going to be in play for the November election.

Frederica Freyberg:
So what is your response to the FBI poking around on the 2020 election in Wisconsin, specifically in Milwaukee?

Don Millis:
Well, I’ve seen politicians and the press report about it. Everything that I’ve seen in talking to people who have been interviewed is that the interviews have been professional. They’ve been done by career employees. And it wasn’t really what I call an investigation. I think there’s an effort to prepare a report for probably someone higher up in the Department of Justice or the FBI. I am not confident that anything more will come of it. Certainly, the conversation that was reported in the press with the election commission staffer, the questions that were asked were, can you debunk these election conspiracy theories? I think the staffer did a very good job of that. And so I’m not sure that we’ll have an investigation. I think it’s doubtful that we’ll see the FBI come in to any clerk’s office in Milwaukee or Madison or elsewhere with a search warrant. I think mostly what’s going on is that they’re trying to draft a report so that those in Washington can evaluate.

Frederica Freyberg:
With all of this happening behind the scenes, really, what should voters do to make sure they can cast a ballot that is counted?

Don Millis:
Well, certainly. Go on my vote. Make sure that you’re voting in the right place. If you’re going to vote absentee, we don’t want to discourage people from doing that, make sure you get your ballot, fill it out, send it back early. Or if you’re concerned about the mail, place it in a secure drop box if your municipality has one or deliver it to your clerk. That’s the most important thing.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. We leave it there. Don Millis, thanks very much.

Don Millis:
Thank you. Have a good weekend.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
The deal between Republican legislative leaders and Governor Tony Evers to use surplus dollars to reduce property taxes, increase school funding and give out tax rebates, failed in colossal fashion when most Democrats voted against it, and Republican candidate for governor, Tom Tiffany, blasted the bill ahead of the vote. But when asked, most people across the state said they were for it. A new Marquette Law School poll found 80% of Wisconsin adults say the Legislature should have passed the measure. Poll director Charles Franklin is here with more. And thanks very much for being here.

Charles Franklin:
Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
So have you ever conducted a poll with across-the-board bipartisan results on any issue like this?

Charles Franklin:
There are a few, but they’re really rare. And on this one, with the 80% in favor – that was 77% of Republicans, 81% of independents, 82% of Democrats. That is really an incredibly narrow range across party. And it’s also the same across ideology – 78% of liberals, 78% of conservatives and statewide, in every media market in the state, it’s in the high 70s or 80s in support of the bill.

Frederica Freyberg:
What do you think was most resonant about why people wanted this?

Charles Franklin:
Well, I think the fundamental thing is that it gives something that everybody wants at least a piece of. In our other polling this year, we’ve seen concern about reducing property taxes is high, with funding for special education is a 70% in favor of that. And who doesn’t want a check for $300 or $600 to a couple? So there are popular elements there. I think the other thing that’s less obvious is that this is a kind of old-fashioned compromise where everybody got something, and it’s all about the good things you’re getting rather than the bad things. The conflict in politics and in the Capitol may have made it hard for that compromise to carry over in the actual votes, where you saw both some Republicans and all Democrats in the Senate voting no. That that inability to reach a compromise and stick to it is much easier for the public to see this as a reasonable outcome, maybe harder for legislators.

Frederica Freyberg:
So in your polling, you referenced the potential fiscal impact, but you surveyed people before the Legislative Fiscal Bureau actually put a specific $2.9 billion number on a potential projected deficit as a result of this. Do you think if you had that specific number, it would have changed the results?

Charles Franklin:
It might have changed it a little bit. That report came out after we were already in the field, so it was too late to incorporate it. But we did ask a separate question that said, some opponents have said this is fiscally irresponsible. Do you think it would be better to wait until we have a better picture of next year’s budget, or pass it now, even if that means a potential future budget deficit? It was still 69% saying it should be passed now, just 21% say wait until later. So having that information, those real doubts about the fiscal situation did lower support by 11 points, but it still left more than two-thirds in favor and again, across the board, Republican, independent and Democrats still wanted it to happen now.

Frederica Freyberg:
Back to your results, how surprising is it that usual party politics kind of don’t apply here?

Charles Franklin:
Yeah, it’s very surprising because so little that we see in state politics is bipartisan this way. I think part of what’s going on is you had an odd combination of bipartisan support for the bill – Governor Evers and Republican leadership – but you also had bipartisan opposition -Tom Tiffany’s opposition, most of the Democratic candidates either were outright opposed or were very lukewarm about the bill. And as we saw in the vote split, there were three Republicans in the Senate, enough to sink the bill without Democratic support, and all Democrats opposed. So you had both bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition. So what’s a partisan to do when they’re sent such conflicting messages? And the result was just almost no difference in how the parties felt about the bill.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now there is the piece about Governor Evers not working with his Democratic caucus on this, and then they mostly vote against it. What do you make of Evers’ play in this legislation?

Charles Franklin:
I think that’s a politically stunning result. Not one that most voters pay that much attention to day in and day out, but it surfaces the fact that for seven and a half years, Evers has really had to deal with the Republican majorities in the Legislature. The Democratic minority could do very little to help him, though it was vital for passing the most recent budget, for example. But he just hasn’t been forced politically to work with the Democrats in the Legislature. But this was really surprising that his party would desert him so completely on, you know, the sort of capstone bill of his term as governor.

Frederica Freyberg:
You asked the question in your poll whether positions on this bill will affect the November elections. Will it?

Charles Franklin:
25% said it would be very important for their fall vote. I take that with a grain of salt. Fall is still a good ways away, but what I think we can be certain of is that the issues of property tax, funding for schools, those things are going to be at the center of our fall campaigns even if voters have completely forgotten about this bill, and I’m not sure that they will forget about the bill. But how do you sell that you’re for property tax relief, you’re for school funding, if both parties took such ambiguous stands on this budget bill.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. Charles Franklin, thanks very much.

Charles Franklin:
Thank you.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
The issue of trying to hold down property taxes while also being able to fund services pertains not just to schools, but to things like fire departments and EMS. Like schools, cities also pass referendums asking local voters’ permission to raise property taxes to pay for basic services. Now, this has become more common in recent years, as state funding for local government continues to fall behind the cost of inflation. In our ongoing series looking at the biggest issues in the race for governor “Here & Now” senior political reporter Zac Schultz asked the candidates if they want to see any changes to how the state shares revenue with local government.

Zac Schultz:
In 2023 Governor Tony Evers and legislative Republicans celebrated a bipartisan compromise that boosted funding for local governments by nearly 20%. But after more than a decade of property tax freezes, local governments around the state have still been forced to go to referendums since then to ask the voters to raise their own taxes to cover the increased costs of basic services like police and fire protection. We asked the candidates for governor if they want to see changes to how the state shares revenue with local governments.

Tom Tiffany:
I served two terms as a locally elected official. I think we need to make sure that they are well funded. I think, especially on the infrastructure side in regards to roads, because that’s oftentimes the biggest thing for local units of government. We need to make sure that they have good funding to be able to maintain their infrastructure, especially roads and bridges.

David Crowley:
As the county executive, 80% of our local tax levy is going towards, you know, state-mandated services. These are services that, you know, most folks may not actually utilize, but those most used amenities, like our public parks, like our county zoo, like our county transit system, these are non-mandated services. And it really puts those particular services that help to improve the quality of life for individuals who live in or around or just play in Milwaukee County, those are always on the chopping block. And so we actually need a better course of action. We need a better relationship with the state of Wisconsin for all local municipalities to be able to fund the necessary programs and services that their residents expect but also rely on every day.

Kelda Roys:
I think that the state needs to meet its commitment to local governments and to our public schools. You know, the promise was that the state would cover two-thirds of the cost and we have really very, very infrequently ever lived up to that. Meanwhile, local property taxpayers are asked to raise their own already too high property taxes just to keep the lights on for our schools and keep the snowplows on the road and police and firefighters on the street. That’s not fair. The state is sitting on a multibillion dollar surplus and has for years, and it’s time that we reinvested that money where taxpayers expect and deserve it to be spent in our local communities.

Joel Brennan:
When we have the number of referenda that are still going on, when, you know, places like Whitewater and Stevens Point have to go to referendum in order to create positions for firefighters, that system is still not working the way it needs to work. And so, you know, I think that no matter what we do, we need to ensure that the relationship between local government and state government is strong and that we’re hearing what’s happening at the local level. And I think that we have for many years, as state shared revenue was frozen, I think we were not listening to local government as their costs were increasing.

Francesca Hong:
The state has been starving our local municipalities and for over a decade now. And so it’s imperative that we have a more equitable shared revenue formula to make sure that our local municipalities have the resources they need. They say when government is the government that’s closest to your door, is the government that’s going to pass policies that impact you quickest. So it’s, it’s for our communities. It’s necessary for our communities to have municipalities that have the resources to provide the services that people need.

Sara Rodriguez:
We do need more investment in local government. When I talk to municipalities and cities all across the state, they are really struggling to be able to provide the services that their constituents expect – basic services. We’re talking about making sure that their parks stay open, their public libraries stay open, that there’s a public pool that that kids can go to in the summer. So we’re going to have to look at that formula of how we fund municipalities and cities to make sure they can provide those services.

Missy Hughes:
You know, local governments are really struggling under the weight of a lack of funding. We need to do better and make sure that local communities have resources. My platform of building the economy is really focused on looking at the main streets around the state, saying, what do you need? What are your priorities? Giving some resources so that then they can start to generate momentum and be able to have local economies that are providing good jobs, health care and the services that Wisconsinites need.

Mandela Barnes:
There’s long been a funding flaw that has made it more difficult for municipalities to be able to get the resources, or even the money that goes to Madison, to come back at the same rate. This has been an issue in Milwaukee. That’s why we’ve seen the raise in sales tax in the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. But that didn’t change the formula. The percentage is still the same. So effectively, there’s even more money coming in. But at a time also when people are feeling the pinch, you know, at the grocery store or anytime they’re at any checkout counter. Now we have this increased sales tax, which is making it even harder for people. But the reason that is the case is because Madison has failed and the Legislature has failed to actually implement a real solution to make it easier for municipalities to get the support they deserve. And we’re going to be convening a group of local elected officials of mayors very soon to be able to have this conversation, have this discussion in a real way.

Zac Schultz:
Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg: Of those who voted no, many didn't care for the fact the package was hatched by leaders not running for reelection and a lame duck governor also not running. The bill saw bipartisan passage in the state Assembly, with 10 Dems voting in favor along with all Republicans. Among them, Republican Rep. Tony Kurtz of Wonewoc, vice chair of the Joint Finance Committee — he joins us now, and thanks a lot for being here. State Rep. Tony Kurtz: Oh, my pleasure, thank you for having me. Frederica Freyberg: So how surprised were you that this blew up and failed? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: I was incredibly shocked. I'm actually, you know, we're how many days after the fact, and I'm still a little shocked and dismayed, to be very frank with you. Frederica Freyberg: Why? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: I just think it's a good package. I mean, I understand there's people on both sides of the aisle that have their differences with it. And I know you just talked about, you know, a lame duck governor and a new speaker and a new majority leader. But really since January, we've been working with the governor in good faith on this. So for those that say this was done out of the blue, that is not true. This is something that we've been working on, and anybody inside the Madison bubble know we've been working on that. We've taken votes on no tax on tips and no tax on overtime. The special ed is something that we all know, our school districts know that they need that. And so that's what kind of shocks me the most, that we couldn't get this across the finish line, even though people knew we were working on this. Frederica Freyberg: As to the day in question of the vote, the Assembly sat on this for hours before it finally passed. Were you negotiating with Senate Republicans or Democrats during that time? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: To be very frank with you: both. I mean, we were trying to get a deal. I mean, I'm in the state Assembly, and I'm trying to whip votes over in the state Senate. Yeah, we were trying to get this done. This is something that we truly wanted to get done. I think personally, and I'm just speaking for me, I hope the governor calls us back in for a special session. I really do, 'cause we have some unfinished business to do. Frederica Freyberg: On this or other matters? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: On this particular matter. I mean, what bothers me the most about this entire package is, you know, you have some of my Republican colleagues that obviously, they want to save the money for a large tax cut next year. OK, that's fine. And then you have my Democrat colleagues that obviously want to save all this money for next session because, you know, they have their various programs that they want to do. The problem is people are hurting right now. The economy is suffering. Our school districts could use the money for special education. And the further we keep pushing this down the road is we're another year behind. Because let's say January — and you know this, you've been around this longer than I, with your experience — in January, everything's now focused on the state budget. And historically the state budget gets signed in, you know, July. And then, once again, those programs have to get implemented. So we are another 14 to 15 months further down the road to try to get tax relief for those folks that need it, and also the special education funding that our schools so desperately need. If you want to know the truth, that's what frustrates me the most, is we had a really good deal now. I mean, yeah, it had its issues, but now we're just kicking the can down the road, honestly, probably 15 to 16 months before we get something else that's going to help Wisconsinites. Frederica Freyberg: Why would coming back in be any different? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: Maybe it would give time for people to possibly reflect, see if there's something that we can tweak. Because just like you even mentioned, we were truly trying to find something that would get some of our Democrat colleagues or some of the Republican colleagues on board. Maybe it gives us more time to do that now. I thought we were doing a lot of that before. But that's my hope, 'cause, once again, the longer we wait — I don't see a point in waiting. I'll put it that way. Frederica Freyberg: What were some of the pot sweeteners that were going back and forth? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: Obviously, talking about the different things you know, we saw at the end, we did put the veterans tax credit. I'm a veteran. You know, it's funny. Last week, the week before, excuse me, the VA Secretary, Dave Collins, was actually in the state of Wisconsin. I got to talk to the VFW state commander there, the American Legion state commander, and the property tax exemption for disabled veterans, that was part of a sweetener. That is something incredibly important to those organizations. We thought that was going to help. Disaster relief — and that had broad bipartisan support as well. You know, in my area, we had just had some tornadoes a couple weeks ago, up there by the Wausau area. In the Milwaukee area, the flooding last year. So we thought that was a way to sweeten the pot. But, once again, this is an opportunity for them to come back to us and say, "Hey, we'd like to maybe see this or like to see that." They wouldn't even entertain that. That's what's kind of frustrating about the whole thing. We got to the point where, you know, they didn't even want to sit down and talk in a reasonable way. Frederica Freyberg: When Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany blasted the measure, did that give you any pause? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: No, because what I just mentioned earlier. I mean, I understand and I respect Tom, and I understand what he wants to do, but the fact of the matter is, it's today. I mean, we have the surplus. We are in a great financial position to get some of this money back to taxpayers, but also help our schools with special education. And I'm sympathetic to that. I know that's an incredibly costly program. So, no, that does not give me pause. I mean, I understand why he did what he did, and I respect that. But, you know, let's be honest. I mean the Democrats on the Senate side did the same thing. You know, they dug their heels in too for various reasons, and I respect that as well. It's just the time and place is now. Why do we want to wait? Because, like I mentioned before, the timeline is not why do something that we all collectively know we should do? Why are we going to wait 15 to 16 months next year to do that? The rebate checks, per the bill, was supposed to go out no later than the 15th of September 2026. Property tax relief — people would see that immediately on their taxes in December when they get their property tax bills. The interesting about the no tax on overtime? That would've took effect immediately with the withholding tables being affected. So people would've seen that relief immediately. And, once again, the schools — I talked to one of my superintendents yesterday. I'm not going to say names 'cause he's a wonderful person, and I don't want to put words in his mouth, but he was just in disbelief that this failed. That would've been a million dollars for this one particular school district that would help them immediately, to help that on the special ed so the other money they could pull for, they wouldn't have to spend on special ed. So there's a lot of frustration out there. I hope you hear it in my voice. I guess I go back to the thing — why wait? We know we have needs. People are hurting because of the economy and prices. So let's try to give some of that back. Frederica Freyberg: Just coming back around on this a bit. Tom Tiffany also called the measures in this temporary gimmicks. What about that? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: No tax on tips and no tax on overtime as a gimmick? I respectfully disagree with that. You know, the special education funding, once again, that is, and if you want anybody to blame in the state Legislature on who really is a hawk on the special ed, it's me. Because as you know, from your experience, once we put money into special education funding, regardless of what the economy does, that is money we as a state can never pull back. Because we have a federal requirement, once we put a dollar amount in special education, it has to stay there. We can never claw that back if we have another horrible economy. So I am a little careful on what we do for special ed. Do we need to do it? Absolutely. And so to say that's a gimmick? Once again, I respectfully disagree with that. That's permanent funding for our schools. You know, like the Reedsburgs of the world, like the Westons of the world, like the Richland school districts of the world can count on for months and years ahead. I'm going to respectfully disagree. I don't think it's a gimmick at all. Now, let's be fair: Both sides have said that. You know, I know some of my Republican colleagues, like you pointed out, but also some of my Democrat colleagues pointed the same thing out. So I disagree on the premise on both of those. Frederica Freyberg: So as to the economy, some people wanted to be prudent, hold on to any projected surplus in case it sours, you know, potentially more than it has. What about that persuasion? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: You know, I've heard that. That's an argument some have tried to make. The fact of the matter is we had a really good state budget. Coming out of the state budget late fall, we saw our projection numbers higher than anticipated. Just in January, the numbers really, like our economy's doing better than we anticipated. Even on Monday — you know, Monday — the Fiscal Bureau and wonderful Bob Lang and his incredible team over there came out with another, it's going to be another $300 million that we are above projections. So I would never — and let me repeat this — I would never sign or vote on a bill if I knew that was going to put us in financial peril. That's not the way we've been doing budgeting over the last four or five budgets. We live within our means. And this budget and the proposal that unfortunately failed Wednesday night lives within our means. Once again, people think about if this was all said and done, we'd still probably well over have probably $800 to $900 million in our checking account. But then a lot of people don't forget about the rainy day fund. The rainy day fund is like our savings account, and that's well over $2 billion, and that's earning interest. It's almost seven and a half million dollars a month just in interest. So, financially, the state is doing very well. And I would never, once again, I never would put any of that in jeopardy if there is a question about if we could not afford this or not. Frederica Freyberg: So, finally, in your mind, how tough might it be for people who voted no at the doors in their campaigns for their elections? State Rep. Tony Kurtz: I personally think it's going to be pretty tough. I cannot tell you the phone calls I have gotten over the last two days about like, "What in the world happened? "How did this fall apart?" And, I mean, being inside the bubble, I know how it failed. That's what frustrates me the most. So I couldn't imagine going into campaign season and walking to a door and talking to a wonderful young lady — well, a server just in my area, Allison — and how to tell her, "Oh, by the way, you're not going to get the no tax on tips like we wanted to." Or Brad, which is a good friend of mine who is a factory worker who was just ecstatic about the no tax on overtime. How do you tell him that, "Oh, by the way, I voted no against that?" Or, even more importantly, you know, how do you tell a superintendent or school board member, "Oh, by the way, we had this other $300 million we were going to help with special education funding, and I voted no on that?" It's a hard sell, in my very humble opinion. Frederica Freyberg: Rep. Tony Kurtz, thank you very much for joining us. State Rep. Tony Kurtz: Hey, thank you for your time. I hope you have a good weekend, thank you. Frederica Freyberg: Thank you.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
As the political tenor in America continues to deteriorate, threats against politicians have increased, some only online, others very much real and in person. As part of our continuing series on the most important issues of the election for governor, “Here & Now” senior political reporter Zac Schultz asked the leading candidates about this topic.

Zac Schultz:
Running for governor is a huge commitment, but in the current political environment, it means candidates and their families also need to consider their own personal safety when deciding to run. We asked the leading candidates whether that factored into their decision to enter the race, and if they have concerns for their personal safety.

Mandela Barnes:
We are in a politically charged environment and it’s kind of hectic out there. I had, you know, somebody — I had threats before that were, you know, made to me. It’s not a fun thing to experience. And, you know, it’s always back of mind. But I can tell you, like, I’m focused on doing what’s right. I’m going to continue to stay focused on what’s doing right. Violence is absolutely a problem. It’s an issue. It’s something that we cannot ignore. But I can’t let that slow me down either.

Missy Hughes:
No more than how dangerous it is to drive here from western Wisconsin on an icy day. You know, certainly it’s disappointing to see the level of noise that is created around politics these days. And Wisconsinites are looking for someone who’s going to bring that noise level down. That’s what I’m going to do. And, you know, despite security concerns, despite things like that, I have the energy to be in this conversation. That’s what Wisconsinites need.

Sara Rodriguez:
I don’t. I love Wisconsin and I believe in Wisconsinites, and I believe that they want us to have an open dialog for politics. And so I do not have any concerns about my personal safety.

Francesca Hong:
It’s disappointing that political violence has become such a frequent occurrence, and I’m fortunate to have a campaign team and a community and volunteers across the state that I think are going to remain supportive. And I, I do not have concerns for my personal safety.

Joel Brennan:
I guess I still believe that campaigns are about ideas, and I absolutely, I know that there are going to be people who disagree with me and disagree with me on the campaign. You know, I hope and expect that they’re going to do that honorably. I am more than willing to take pot shots that people have online. And, you know, and there’s a lot of that. And, and I, you know, I have to have a thick skin around that, but I hope that we’re at a place and I hope we can demonstrate in Wisconsin that we do things civilly.

Tom Tiffany:
You certainly think about it a little bit, especially in light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and, of course, the attempts on President Trump’s life in 2024 where he almost lost his life. So we do think about it more at this point, but I just — I try to tune it out because I’m going to do my job and Wisconsinites are — almost everyone is really good about this stuff, whether I’m knocking on doors, seeing people, whatever. People are almost always respectful. And I think it’s important for us to be out amongst the public, and I’m not going to stop doing that just because some people have their lives threatened.

David Crowley:
I think we’ve seen a huge uptick in political rhetoric and political violence happening all across this country. And quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of it. It is unfortunate that we’re seeing the level of violence just for being able to deliver on behalf of those that we represent every single day. And so, you know, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, we need — we really need to end the political rhetoric, end this violent rhetoric that has been out there and really focus on how do we make lives better for those that we represent?

Kelda Roys:
I do, and it’s something that I take seriously. My staff and my family take it seriously. And I think it’s very unfortunate that we have political leaders at the very top of our system whose use of violent rhetoric and violent actions are making us all less safe. And as Americans, you know, every one of us lives with the specter of gun violence. Every time your kid walks out the door to school, every time you go to church or a concert, you have to think, is this going to become a mass shooting event? We have to do so much more to help all Americans be safe and free from violence. And there’s a lot that states can do to make that true.

Zac Schultz:
Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
Anyone who has thought about buying or selling a house recently knows prices are up, interest rates remain higher, and more people seem to be locked out of owning a home. In our continuing series looking at the biggest issues in the race for governor, “Here & Now” senior political reporter Zac Schultz asked the candidates for governor about what the state should do to help fix the affordable housing crisis.

Zac Schultz:
A 2024 study by the Wisconsin Policy Forum showed over a five-year stretch, home prices went up 53% while incomes rose by less than 20%. State government can’t lower the price of materials or labor, but it can create an environment making it easier to build new homes. So we asked the candidates for governor how they plan to address the affordable housing crisis in Wisconsin.

Mandela Barnes:
So the plan to increase affordable housing is to ensure that we put a stop on corporate monopolies that are buying up wholesale properties. This is going on in Milwaukee. These monopolies are making it difficult for first-time homeowners. These monopolies are making it easy — oh, excuse me — making it more difficult for people to be able to afford rent because if they own all the properties, they can price people out or just charge whatever they want to charge and where else are people going to go?

Sara Rodriguez:
We need to look at it as a three-legged stool. There is the legislation that we have to make sure that we have laws that allow us to build affordable housing. There are administrative rules and making sure, like, you know, how you can build, what type of permits that you need. And then there’s funding. And right now, there is nobody who is looking at all three of those things to make sure that they’re aligned. So as governor, I would assign somebody to make sure that they are looking at housing overall, having a statewide strategic plan to make sure that we have some of those starter homes that we certainly don’t have in Wisconsin anymore.

Missy Hughes:
Housing is a vexing problem, but it is not insurmountable. And what we’ve seen at WEDC, the work that we did was to support innovative housing. Whether it’s bringing a nursing home into housing. A nursing home that’s closed in Gilman, we were able to support making that into apartments or schools that have closed due to lack of population, turning those into housing. But we are also seeing new housing being built. And so what I would want to do is make sure that local communities have the resources they need to provide the infrastructure: the water, the sewer for new housing. But then also making sure that we’re supporting developers all around the state as they make the move to build housing.

Francesca Hong:
We have to have a multi-pronged approach, and we have to make it easier to build housing and look at different avenues and innovative ways to ensure that we have permanent affordability when it comes to housing. I’m interested in looking at community land trusts about how we can provide better zoning regulations and the ability to build ADUs and ensure that we have spaces for some folks who may no longer need to be in their homes, where there can be starter homes for folks who are moving into communities and looking at diversifying our housing stock for folks who are moving or maybe downsizing.

Joel Brennan:
Wisconsin likely needs a top-to-bottom housing plan where we can look at all aspects of this, and there are tools at our disposal that we have through WHEDA that I’m not sure that we are using to the best of our abilities. And if we need new tools, we’ll go out and get them. But this is kind of the core of affordability for Wisconsin families, is ensuring that they have a safe and secure place to put a roof over their head, that they can build equity, that they can build wealth for their family over time. So that’s one of the issues that I look forward to working on as soon as I become governor.

Tom Tiffany:
First of all, we need to get control of property taxes. At a minimum, freeze them. I would get rid of the 400-year property tax increase, but I think we can do a lot of it via regulatory reform. And I refer to it as a red tape review. You look at the state of Virginia, they did something like this, and they reduced their regulations largely by getting rid of duplication by about 25%. They reduced the cost of building a new home by about $24,000. We’ve seen studies by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, where they’ve said as much as $80,000 goes in to the cost of a new home that has nothing to do with building materials. So I think we can get control of some of that by reducing duplication in regulations.

David Crowley:
It’s important to understand that there isn’t a one-size solution that fits all of the problems that we’re facing as a state. What works in Milwaukee may not work in Menasha, may not work in Marinette, may not work in Barron. And so we have to make sure that we’re working with those local organizations, those local units of government, to figure out what right size solution works for them. Yes, do we need more affordable housing? Absolutely we do. We need that for our seniors, for working families, for people with disabilities. But we also need attainable housing as well. And attainable housing is those who have the ability to afford, those who may not qualify for affordable housing, but have the means to buy their own home yet we don’t have the housing stock.

Kelda Roys:
The state should both be doing more to incent development projects, helping local governments make zoning changes to allow for more housing to be built, and to allow more flexibility in how we use our dollars so that we can actually get more bang for our buck in terms of building new housing. But ultimately, this is really a supply and demand problem. We have too much need for housing and not enough houses being built, and it’s been that way for since the Bush recession. We’ve underbuilt housing and now we’re really reaping the consequences. So we just have to get more housing online quickly.

Zac Schultz:
Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg: What's your reaction to liberal Supreme Court candidate Chris Taylor's 20-point victory? U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan: Well, she was an extraordinarily good candidate. I think they fielded an extraordinarily poor candidate by Supreme Court standards, but people also are very frustrated with what's happening nationally, and I think you saw that translate. I mean, you saw mayors flip from conservative to more progressive across parts of the state that aren't exactly blue, maybe not even purple, but people are just frustrated with what's going on. So, I think you saw a lot of that. But you know, Chris Taylor is going to be a great Supreme Court justice. She's very smart, very savvy. I've worked with her since my time in the state Legislature. She's going to help that court. We need that court to probably get a kick in the butt, maybe, to get a few more things done, and I think she may just be that catalyst. Frederica Freyberg: But how is a spring election different from a November election? U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan: Turnout's definitely lower, but you saw the intensity of certain people wanting to come out, and we've seen that also in polling, the intensity of Democratic or more progressive-leaning voters versus Republican. People are really upset with Donald Trump, and very few are very happy. In fact, independents, we saw a poll, the swing was 48 points from independents from a year ago. That was called extinction-level numbers when that happens. So, I think when you look at certain congressional districts in Wisconsin, the state Assembly and state Senate are both up to flip. I think all of that is going to happen this November because people have just had it with how Donald Trump is behaving and how Republicans are just rolling over and getting their bellies rubbed rather than standing up and fighting for their constituents.

Transcript

Governor Evers making a comment there on political fortunes going forward. What will those fortunes look like in the midterm elections? We welcome our political panelists, Republican Bill McCoshen and Democrat Scot Ross and hello.

Bill McCoshen:
How are you?

Frederica Freyberg:
Pretty good. So Bill, Tom Tiffany said Republicans got their butts kicked Tuesday night. How, in your view, did that happen?

Bill McCoshen:
Well, he’s right about that. If you’re going to win statewide, you need three things. You need money, organization and message, MOM. We had no money. We didn’t look like we had any organization. And I’m not sure what the message was. So I think we failed on all three of those points. And ultimately, it wasn’t the worst Supreme Court election in state history, but it was pretty close. And you know, when Maria Lazar is losing her home county of Waukesha by 43,600, she got 43,600 fewer votes than Brad Schimel did in her own county, that’s a rough night.

Frederica Freyberg:
Scot, was it about the money advantage for Chris Taylor?

Scot Ross:
No, because we’ve seen advantages before where I mean, I’ve been part of ones where the Republicans had all the money and the liberal candidate didn’t have any. And we’ve never — I haven’t, you know, the most I saw was like I think seven points back in 2013. But the fact is, is that this is a combination of a couple things. First and foremost, that the Republican brand is broken. The Donald Trump Republican Party has taken us to war. It’s taken us into the poor house, and it keeps doubling down. And I would point out that, you know, in the same interview where Tom Tiffany said they got their butts kicked, he also endorsed Trump’s, you know, announced intention to commit war crimes and every economic policy that he has pushed forward, including trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Considering this race was about fairness, freedom and rights, there’s no wonder the Republicans lost.

Frederica Freyberg:
So Bill, how big a factor is Trump in these elections?

Bill McCoshen:
I don’t think the race was nationalized. I don’t agree with Scot on that. It may have had something to do with some people staying home. I mean, the truth is they didn’t know Maria Lazar. She raised less than $1 million, which is far less than Brad Schimel. I mean, a year ago, we had the most expensive Supreme Court race in history, $115 million. This one combined was around $10 million. So people didn’t know who she was. So I’m not, I’m not sure that Trump was a huge factor in this race. But the truth is, you know, congrats, first of all to Justice-elect Chris Taylor. But she won seven out of eight congressional districts, including Tom Tiffany’s.

Scot Ross:
And they went up 71, 71 of the 72 counties had a higher performance than in 2025.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how does this travel into November?

Scot Ross:
Well, I think, I think that the trend is irreversible in terms of the Republican performance and Trump’s brand. I would just — I mean, again, I just have to disagree because if you look at past elections, you know. Like for instance, in 2016 where Rebecca Bradley, I mean, she lost, she won by 94,500 votes. You know, when there were 97,000 more Republicans who voted in the presidential primary that year, that’s not even close to 20%. It’s not even close to double digits in terms of the difference between the two. You know, Republicans have in the, in the Trump era, lost races where tons of money, the most money ever spent, they’ve lost when not a lot of money spent. They’ve lost by double digits. each time that we’ve had these things. It’s just again, it’s — the brand is broken. They are doubling down. The cult will continue. Tom Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden and whoever Republicans can finally try and get to be leader of the Senate and Assembly Republicans, you know, come November, you know, it’s just a disaster. But again, Democrats have to do the work in order to get there.

Bill McCoshen:
Not a great correlation between spring elections and fall elections in the state of Wisconsin. If you look at 2023, Janet Protasiewicz won a Supreme Court seat by ten points. 2024 Donald Trump wins Wisconsin with the most votes of any statewide candidate in history. So it’s not a perfect correlation, but I would say it’s a warning sign for Republicans, and they ought to take it that way.

Frederica Freyberg:
So, Bill, what about the war in Iran and its repercussions at home?

Bill McCoshen:
I think it’s having an impact in this respect. Gas prices are up. Whether it’s a buck, buck 50 and people feel that. So the fundamental question that every voter has to answer when they go into the voting booth is, what’s in it for me if I vote for X or Y? And right now, that’s not great for Republicans. For Republicans to have a shot this fall, gas needs to be at or below three bucks a gallon. And if it’s not, it’s going to be a tough cycle.

Scot Ross:
Yeah, 33% gas prices have gone up since Trump’s war of choice in Iran.

Frederica Freyberg:
So if that somehow gets resolved and those gas prices come down and inflation comes down, is it — does it kind of revert to a regular cycle then?

Scot Ross:
No, because people are still losing their health care. They’re still seeing ICE, you know, the Gestapo in our streets, you know, killing Americans who do nothing more than protest. Like those things aren’t going to stop. And the cult of Trump within the Republican Party of elected officials, specifically Derrick Van Orden and Tom Tiffany, who both, as Bill correctly pointed out, lost the congressional district. I mean, Derrick Van Orden lost his district — err, Chris Taylor won Derrick Van Orden’s district by 22 points. Eau Claire and La Crosse were nearly 40%.

Bill McCoshen:
It could. It could revert to a normal cycle. Before the war broke out in the Middle East, the generic ballot was a couple points favorable towards Democrats. That’s something that Republicans can and compete in and win in. Now it’s five or six, and in some polls, it’s eight points. That’s a much tougher environment for Republicans.

Frederica Freyberg:
So, Scot, what about for Democrats in their splintered primary for governor with so many candidates?

Scot Ross:
I mean that just means there’s more coverage of what Democrats are talking about because they’re not attacking each other, not going after each other. It’s the same thing from 2018. I mean, there were hardly any even contrast leveled in the 2018 primary for Democrats. And what ended up happening, Tony Evers upset Scott Walker, who was trying to win a third term and didn’t. You know, I think that, on top of, you know, not just that ballot, but talking — I’m sorry, to your question, not just talking about the Democrats in the, in the, in the primary, but what that’s going to do for the down ballot, the state Senate and state Assembly. I mean, we saw things like, you know, some of the targets, the best targets the Republicans have in the state Senate, Jeff Smith, Chris Taylor won his district by 30 points. Like, you know, that’s all, I mean, there’s even new, there’s new meat on the table as results of Tuesday night.

Bill McCoshen:
Not surprising but a different take. There’s 123 days until the primary. If they do not define one another, Francesca Hong will be the Democratic nominee.

Frederica Freyberg:
What’s the money race going to look like?

Bill McCoshen:
It’s going to be very different this fall. Maria Lazar got no outside help, including from allied groups like the Federalist Society and WMC, who have always spent seven figures in Supreme Court races. This fall, the money will be there for Tom Tiffany.

Frederica Freyberg:
And what about the money on the Democratic side?

Scot Ross:
Golly yes, I think that the money is going to be there for Democrats because they have been an incredible fundraising machine for the last, like, you know, since Wikler.

Bill McCoshen:
Thankfully. Wikler’s gone. So…

Scot Ross:
But Devin’s doing a good job of raising the money too. You know, again, Democrats need to do what — in order to win these races, it’s not about outraising the Republicans. It is about a consistent, relentless assault on what Republicans stand for and how they are hurting the people of Wisconsin.

Bill McCoshen:
207 days to go. It’s time to get the war over and get back to domestic affairs.

Frederica Freyberg:
Ok, Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross, thanks very much.

Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross:
Thank you.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
Wisconsin’s spring election saw a blowout win for liberal Supreme Court candidate Chris Taylor, defeating conservative Maria Lazar by 20 points. As “Here & Now” senior political reporter Zac Schultz tells us, it was an early night.

Zac Schultz:
The crowd at Chris Taylor’s election night party expected her to win the election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but that confidence didn’t diminish the excitement for when the race was officially called before 9:00. Since liberals flipped the court in 2023, they’ve paraded their majority on stage on election night for a celebratory moment. But with Chris Taylor’s victory, the liberal majority is now 5-2. And with former Justice Anne Walsh Bradley on hand, the stage wasn’t big enough, so they had to hold their group photo afterwards.

Chris Taylor:
Wow. Whoo! We did it Wisconsin!

Zac Schultz:
Contrary to the last two record setting elections, this one was quieter, with less outside interest groups spending, fewer ads and lower turnout. While Justice-elect Chris Taylor held an 8 to 1 spending advantage over her opponent, Maria Lazar, Taylor praised her get out the vote effort for getting her supporters to the polls.

Chris Taylor:
And I am so grateful for the grassroots support that I needed to win this race. This was a grassroots campaign about the people of the state of Wisconsin. And tonight the people of Wisconsin spoke. And what you said is clear. We are moving forward.

Maria Lazar:
I have spoken with Chris Taylor and I have conceded, and that’s okay.

Zac Schultz:
At her event, Lazar was gracious in defeat, hugging supporters and consoling those who thought she could pull off the upset. But the parties weren’t even over before thoughts turned to the Wisconsin Supreme Court election next April. Incumbent conservative Justice Annette Ziegler has already announced she won’t run again, and with conservatives having lost five out of six races, there’s a real question of what it will take for conservative candidates and their Republican supporters to be competitive in the spring.

Maria Lazar:
This race was run in a way that we were always behind catching up. That’s not how races are going to go from now on. I want people in this state to demand better from your candidates.

Zac Schultz:
On the liberal side, potential candidates for next spring need to decide soon if they’re running in order to start building up the fundraising network that has been central to their winning streak. Judge Pedro Colon was at Taylor’s party and has talked about running in the past.

Pedro Colon:
As I said, every race is unique, so I have to uniquely think about the race for the Supreme Court. But tonight is a great victory for the state of Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:
With their new 5-2 majority, liberals will control the court until at least 2030. Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Transcript

Steven Potter: What are your thoughts on the fall for Republicans and the potential to flip the majority for Democrats in the Assembly? Scott Walker: Well, I think it's certainly a warning sign — not insurmountable — but historically, you know, when Barack Obama was in, we had a whole wave of Republicans elected here and across the country. You now have a Republican in the White House — you're just going to see a similar trend for Democrats. To counter that, it's really two things. Level the playing field so you got an equal echo chamber, if you will, a chance to get your message out just as much as the opposition. And focus exclusively on the issues that matter to people, which is overwhelmingly affordability. You know, people want to know more than just about anything else, how am I going to pay the bills? How am I going to fill up the grocery cart? How am I going to fill up my gas? How am I going to pay for my housing, whether it's rental or mortgage? Those are the things if someone like Tom Tiffany focuses on that — and whomever he ends up running against — I think he'll do well. Steven Potter: What do you think about the chances of the Senate flipping to majority Democrats? Scott Walker: Again, it'll be a challenge. You've got, of the three key races, three to four key races, you've got a couple of incumbents that chose not to run. That always makes it incredibly more competitive. But again, good candidates — I just saw one of them today. I live here in Waukesha County, that's part of his district, and he was working, so I was impressed to see him even before I took my mother to the polls this morning, even though his election is until next November. So, a lot of hard work, knocking on doors, raising resources, and honing in on a message that connects to voters.

Transcript

Frederica Freyberg:
Now that the Supreme Court election is over, attention shifts to the next election. Tom Tiffany, the only prominent Republican running for governor, responded to Tuesday’s outsized win for liberal Justice-elect Chris Taylor.

Tom Tiffany:
We got our butts kicked last night, right? There’s no doubt about it. And we should acknowledge that. But the election that’s coming up this fall in November is a new election. And you guys know as well as anyone, every election is unique. And I have built a campaign: money, manpower and messaging. We’re going to compete on all fronts.

Frederica Freyberg:
Before a challenger takes on Tiffany in November, seven Democrats are running to win the nomination in the August primary. The first two Marquette polls have shown a wide-open race, with 65% of all Democratic voters saying they haven’t made up their minds. Reporter Zac Schultz has been on the campaign trail and tells us how the Democrats are handling this crowded primary.

Sara Rodriguez:
Sara Rodriguez, lieutenant governor.

Zac Schultz:
Pick a city across the state …

Mandela Barnes:
What’s up man?

Young man:
How you doing?

Mandela Barnes:
Good.

Young man:
You?

Zac Schultz:
… on any given weekend …

David Crowley:
How are you?

Zac Schultz:
… there’s a good chance …

Missy Hughes:
First off, I’m Missy Hughes.

Zac Schultz:
… you’ll find one of the Democrats running for governor, shaking hands and introducing themselves.

Kelda Roys:
My name is Kelda Roys, and I’m running for governor.

Zac Schultz:
These candidates launched their campaigns last year, but the polling shows the race has just started, with most candidates polling in the low single digits.

David Crowley:
You know, we’re about five to six months into this race and still have a long runway ahead of us.

Joel Brennan:
The bottom line for the statewide poll, very credible, is that almost nobody has made up their mind about this, and it’s a wide-open race.

Missy Hughes:
This is the first time I’ve run for office, so I’m excited to learn what Wisconsinites are really thinking about, what they’re concerned about with the future.

Kelda Roys:
No poll before people have actually started paying for communications is going to tell you anything reliable about the electorate.

Sara Rodriguez:
What I say to them is really look at who can win in November, who has the most experience, who’s been able to win in difficult races.

Zac Schultz:
Only Mandela Barnes and Francesca Hong are polling above 10%.

Mandela Barnes:
Poll numbers are poll numbers. Doesn’t change our program. We’re showing up all across Wisconsin. We’re talking to people. There’s a poll that came out two days before showed me with a lead with eight points above the next person. So polls are polls are always scattered all over the place.

Zac Schultz:
Hong in particular is taking a different approach to the campaign. We met her in La Crosse, where her event doubled as a benefit for Driftless Mutual Aid, and she skipped the speech and just helped the other volunteers.

Francesca Hong:
We are organizing and community powered campaign, so events like this, community actions with support from mutual aid efforts. This is what I hope more politicians will start doing.

Zac Schultz:
With two thirds of all Democrats undecided, each voter the candidate convinces now has a chance to influence an even larger audience.

Missy Hughes:
I’m seeing a ton of engagement around the state. When I go to Brown County or Marinette, folks are showing up for meetings. They want to understand where the candidates are, who the candidates are.

Zac Schultz:
That makes these small meet and greets that much more important.

Joel Brennan:
Clearly, this is an engaged electorate. People who want to make sure that we are doing the right level of organizing to be ready for this fall.

David Crowley:
I mean, you absolutely have your political junkies who are, who are tuning in and asking a lot of questions. But we also know there’s a lot happening in the world.

Zac Schultz:
With the Supreme Court election over, it’s a four month sprint to the August primary.

Mandela Barnes:
Feeling incredible. A few months in, actually incredible response all across the state. We’ve been traveling nonstop. The response has been incredible. We see the momentum continue to grow. We see support increase all across Wisconsin.

Sara Rodriguez:
I’m feeling really good about the race. I’m feeling really good about what my team is doing. We are going all across the state, all 72 counties, talking to everybody because I firmly believe you can’t lead if you don’t listen.

Kelda Roys:
I feel great. I feel like I’m getting a huge amount of momentum as I travel across the state, and it’s really a joy to campaign when people are feeling like we’re on the cusp of something different in Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:
Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Transcript

Steven Potter: What are your thoughts about the loss tonight? Maria Lazar: Like I said, I think, one, it's been an honor to run this race, and two, I'm thankful to everyone who helped me, my team, everyone else, has been phenomenal and fantastic. And three, I'm just hopeful that my opponent Justice-elect Taylor, she just realizes what a fantastic opportunity she has to show the state that she can rise above and do a really good job there. And I wish that for her. I hope she does an excellent job, and I hope that everyone in this state is pleased with the decision that they've made. Steven Potter: What do you think contributed most to your loss? Maria Lazar: I really don't know. I mean, I think, maybe, we'll come up with numbers, facts and figures, but I think for right now, I think we just have to assess the fact that we don't run races for judicial positions the way we should. And I think that maybe from now on we will start doing that. And I think that you should be asking questions not about political parties, because we still have that rollover from before. And I think we need to start having races where the sole question is judicial experience and merit. Rich Kremer: That was a big, I mean, that was your hope, is... Maria Lazar: That was my hope. Rich Kremer: ...that you'd bring it back. Maria Lazar: And maybe it still happen. So, I'm not giving up on that hope at all. I'm thinking it still will happen. Rich Kremer: OK, but did the results show that people, they want the politics of it all? Maria Lazar: No, I don't think so. I think this was a race where we had incidents that happened — tornadoes, other things that happened — that just weren't leading towards a good opportunity for people in the state to get to know the candidates. And I think, maybe next race that they will ask for that. No, no, no — I think they will demand that. And when they do that, you will see a better race, better candidates and you will see a better result. Steven Potter: Would you run for the Supreme Court again? Maria Lazar: That's not in my future. No — oh, although I am supposed to always leave doors open, so, I'll just say, hmm, interesting question. Steven Potter: Thank you so much for your time. Rich Kremer: Thanks so much. Maria Lazar: No problem.

Transcript

Justice-elect Chris Taylor: People are hungry for a judiciary that prioritizes them, that protects our rights, that affords all Wisconsinites equal justice under the law. That is exactly what I will do as your next state Supreme Court justice. And last but certainly not least, thank you to the tens of thousands of grassroots supporters who were part of this campaign in communities throughout. That's you all. Yay! In communities throughout our state, armies of volunteers knocked on countless doors, made thousands of phone calls, and wrote, I don't know, probably millions of postcards, and I got one telling me to vote for me, so that was fun. And it worked. And it worked. There is nothing more powerful than when we come together, organizing and raising our voices, and I am so grateful for the grassroots support that I needed to win this race. This was a grassroots campaign about the people of the state of Wisconsin, and tonight, the people of Wisconsin spoke, and what you said is clear: We are moving forward!